


Never Expected but Never Regretted

by There_Once_Was_A_Girl



Series: Random WIPs [6]
Category: Elementary (TV)
Genre: AU, Accidental Baby Acquisition, Crack, Fluff, Gen, We're ignoring significant bits of canon here
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-28
Updated: 2019-08-28
Packaged: 2020-09-28 16:48:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,976
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20429207
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/There_Once_Was_A_Girl/pseuds/There_Once_Was_A_Girl
Summary: AU in which Sherlock left for London because one of his fuck-buddies got pregnant. Sherlock isn't sure what he will do at first but surprises himself by being paternal and falling in love with his daughter. Once she's a few months old he goes back home to Joan and New York.I have so much fun with accidental baby acquisition Idk why, but I write it for almost every fandom lol





	Never Expected but Never Regretted

**Author's Note:**

> Part of my Random WIPs series, and like the rest is un-beta'ed and un-edited.

Sherlock vanished. All Joan got was a five sentence note. 

‘I have accepted a job at MI6. I am quite confident that you will be capable of continuing work alone. You have, in your own way, expressed a desire to do so by wanting your own space. If you have urgent need of me you may call. However, I will find myself rather busy and not be likely to be in touch.  
Your friend always,  
Sherlock.’

She was the lucky one though. Gregson and Bell didn’t get even that much. Sherlock didn’t call. Joan moved on. She had no choice but to move on. She got her own apartment and started working independently. She pretended she didn’t miss Sherlock Holmes. She missed Sherlock Holmes more than she thought possible. She had known he was her friend, that he was important. She just hadn’t realized how important to her he was. He was her best friend, and she missed him. She missed being woken up by Clyde sitting on her chest. She missed Sherlock practicing single stick in the living room. She missed living in the brownstone with him.

Six months passed and Sherlock never got in touch. Then all of a sudden he texted her and asked her to meet him at the brownstone. Six months with no word and all of a sudden he was back, and she was just supposed to go running. The worst part was, she did go running. She didn’t care that it might make her seem weak, maybe she was week. She missed her best friend. He let her in as soon as she knocked. 

“Joan.” He said with a smile, a real genuine smile. Then to her utter disbelief, he hugged her. 

“Who are you, and what did you do with Sherlock Holmes?” She asked in shock.

“My apologies, I cannot tell you how much I have missed you these past six months.” Sherlock said. 

“If you missed me you could have called me, or texted me.” She told him sharply. He sighed.

“I had a great deal of work to do in London. I was also not sure you would welcome communication from me. I left things badly between us. I confess I was in a bad place when I left New York. I was in distress. The longer I left things, the worse the potential fallback from not talking to you grew.” He said softly. 

“I know you.” Joan said. “You told me that you were my friend always. I believed you.” 

“Clearly, I texted you, and you have arrived. I am glad.” He told her. She rolled her eyes and hugged him again. 

“I missed you too.” She said with a smile.

“Come in Watson.” He invited. She followed him into the kitchen. 

“Tea?” He asked. She nodded. 

“How have you been Sherlock?” She asked. He pursed his lips. 

“As well as I could be considering the situation.”

“What’s the situation?” She asked. 

“My life has been upended. I was forced to return to London, I lost my partnership with you. Everything stable I established here was suddenly gone.” Sherlock said. 

“You chose to go back to London, you were offered a job at MI6, you accepted.” Joan pointed out. “Unless that was a lie.” 

“I was offered a job, and I accepted the job, but there was a step between those two events.” He admitted. “That is to say I-” He was interrupted by a sound that startled Joan. It came from an electronic speaker, like a walky talky. It sounded like a baby. Sherlock sighed. 

“I’m sorry, she woke up early. She would normally be asleep for another ten minutes at least, but it is impossible to reliably predict her.” Sherlock said. He turned and headed up the stairs immediately. Joan followed him. 

“I’m sorry, is that an infant?” She demanded. He nodded. 

“Yes, her name is Eleanor Katherine Holmes.” He answered. He went into the room that had once been Joan’s and left the door open behind him. 

“She’s yours?” Joan asked, alarmed. Sherlock nodded. 

“Indeed, I have always been careful with my sexual partners, and yet Eleanor exists. Mistakes were made. Her mother was an acquaintance from London, though she is in fact a US citizen. She didn’t tell me until Eleanor was nearly present in this world. I accepted the job in London at MI6 so I could go to Sarah, my friend, Eleanor’s mother, and help take care of Eleanor.” He told her. He lifted the six month old baby out of her crib. Joan’s room had been redecorated, it was painted a lovely yellow. There was a crib, a changing table, a new dresser. There was a play mat on the floor and toys scattered around. A stuffed turtle was tucked into the side of the crib. 

“Come here, Eleanor.” Sherlock said to his daughter as he lifted her up. “You need a change don’t you. Let’s get you cleaned up, all is well.” He carried her over to the table, and changed her diaper expertly. 

“Where is her mother now?” Joan asked. 

“She’s in London, continuing with her life as normal. She did not want to abort our child, but had no wish to be a mother. She carried Eleanor to term. She was not sure whether to tell me or not, in the end she did call me, asked if I wanted Eleanor, if not she was going to put her up for adoption.” Sherlock answered.

“But you hate kids! You’ve called the very concept of procreation selfish and masterbatory and you always swore you never wanted children,” Joan protested. 

“I do not hate children. I did not want to reproduce because I could never willingly force another human, an infant, to suffer from sharing my genetics. However, once such a child already existed, I felt that it was my obligation to care for them,” Sherlock answered. “I confess I was not sure but I wanted to meet my daughter, because I felt obligation to her out of guilt rather than anything else, but I decided I could not leave a child which might possess my unique senses, my proclivities for addiction and so on to struggle with such things along.” he paused looking thoughtful.

“So you’re a dad because you feel guilty. Sherlock, I know where you’re coming from but I don’t think-” Joan started to protest.

“I only started that way” Sherlock interrupted. “Once I met Eleanor I became enamored. I never expected it but it would seem I do have some paternal instincts. I love her, more than I knew it was possible to love. So I stayed with Sarah for six months, worked in MI6 to keep my brain occupied. The six months were for Eleanor’s good. Breast milk is a magical thing, and Sarah was going to produce it whether she liked it or not. She agreed to host us for that time. Then we signed a custody agreement. She wants nothing to do with Eleanor, so I have full custody of my daughter. Once our stay in London was up, I came home.” Sherlock was bouncing his daughter now.

“Why didn’t you tell me about this?” Joan asked. “Why not tell any of us?”

“I left for London… unsure of what I would do. I was already upset, over our disagreements and my brother’s ‘demise.’ I was wary of being influenced. I worried that you, Captain Gregson, Bell, would all try to tell me what the right thing to do was. I was afraid of making the wrong decision, or making any decision for the wrong reasons,” Sherlock admitted. 

“She’s beautiful,” Joan said. The little girl was adorable. She had a surprising amount of dark brown hair, wide watchful brown eyes in an adorable round chubby baby face. She was very cute.

“She is the most wonderful child in existence,” Sherlock agreed. “You see I know everyone says that, and I want to cry out that Ella is different, I know everyone says that too. Yet I believe it.”

“You’re a new father and you love your child, what a shock.” Joan teased. 

“It is a shock. I did not realize how very typically I would respond to parenthood,” Sherlock admitted. 

“Don’t say that like a bad thing.” Joan scolded. “Can I hold her?”

“Of course.” Sherlock agreed. He passed Eleanor to her. “This is Joan Watson, Eleanor. I’ve told you all about Joan of course.”

“Hi Eleanor,” Joan cooed, “it’s wonderful to meet you. Your father is such a good friend of mine.”

“Bring her downstairs, she’ll be hungry soon. I can feed her while we have tea.” Sherlock instructed. Joan followed him downstairs. She held Eleanor while he prepared a bottle for her. 

“Why did you move back to New York?” Joan asked. 

“It is my home. My work is here, the Captain and Bell are here. Most importantly you are here. The thought of raising my daughter without you as an influence in her life is, in my mind, abhorrent. Of course you have no obligation, and if you are angry with me for the way I left and my lack of contact that is understandable. I simply, hope you will consent to be a part of Ella’s life, and a part of mine once more.” He sounded so hopeful, and so worried.

“I was angry,” Joan admitted as she let him take Eleanor once more to feed her. “I was for months, and then… I stopped being angry and just missed you. Now I know why you left and as reasons go, it’s a good one. You didn’t call for stupid reasons, but you’re you, and I understand why you thought it was reasonable. I’m not mad at you Sherlock, well maybe a little, but I am glad to be a part of your lives.” 

“Thank you, Watson.” Sherlock told her. She shrugged.

“I make no promises for Gregson and Bell.” She warned. He shrugged. 

“I can only hope they will come around. I was hoping we could go to the station after tea.” He told her. 

“What about Eleanor?” Joan asked. 

“She’ll come with us naturally. She comes everywhere with me, there is no reason that Eleanor must be a shut in. I can bring all her necessities anywhere with me. There is no reason why I cannot work with Eleanor present.”

“She’s an infant, you work homicides.” Joan reminded him. 

“Yes well I am capable of shielding her from the worst of it, and what she does not yet understand cannot hurt her.” Sherlock said. “Anyway I trust only four people in the world besides myself with her, Sarah is in London, you will also be working, and we’ve yet to speak to Gregson and Bell.” 

“Fair enough, it’s not like I could imagine you trusting babysitters.” Joan admitted. Eleanor finished her bottle and Sherlock slung a cloth over his shoulder and burped her. 

“You’re very good at that.” Joan observed. 

“I’ve had six months of practice and I am a fast learner.” He told her. Once she was burped he tossed the towel into the kitchen sink and offered his daughter back to Joan. “Can you hold her while I get her diaper bag and her harness?” She nodded and took Eleanor. 

“You’re a gentle little thing,” She murmured, “quiet, but you’re watching, I see you watching me. Clever little girl aren’t you? Of course you are, the father you have.” 

Sherlock returned quickly. He buckled Eleanor into a harness on his chest, and he had a sling backpack on his back. It was navy blue and had white polka dots. Sherlock seemed unconcerned by whether or not this looked silly. 

“Shall we?” He asked. Joan nodded. They left the brownstone for the 11th precinct, and Joan was astonished by how normal it felt.

**Author's Note:**

> As with the rest of my Random WIPs if you want to see any more of this, comment!


End file.
